Just 11 people turned up on average to meetings hosted by the Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) over the last two years.

Anthony Stansfeld has held 24 meetings open to the public since the beginning of 2013 – attracting a total of just 269 attendees.

One “policy, planning and performance” meeting at the force headquarters in Kidlington was not attended by a single member of the public.

Only two people turned up to another of these meetings.

The most popular event, at Newbury Town Hall, attracted 21 people as well as Mr Stansfeld and his staff.

In addition to meetings, the commissioner had a stand at various popular events such as the Thame Show and the Marlow Town Regatta, where he was able to meet the public. However, there were no attendance figures for these events.

Attendance at events held by police and crime commissioners was similarly low elsewhere in Britain. Sixteen public meetings hosted by Wiltshire’s PCC drew 281 people – an average of just 18 per meeting.

Cambridgeshire’s PCC welcomed around eight people per meeting, at events where the force was able to provide an estimate or a precise figure on numbers.

Police and crime commissioners, introduced at elections in 2012, have wide-ranging powers over their force’s budgets and priorities.

The polls had very low turnouts of between 10 and 20 per cent, leading to questions about their legitimacy.

Mr Stansfeld told the Reading Post: “I have attended a very large number of meetings over the past two years, with councils, voluntary organisations, local Neighbourhood Action Groups and meetings held specifically to meet the public.

“The attendance at these meetings has been low, and in spite of being well publicised my office is looking at ways to generate more publicity at future meetings.

“This I believe reflects the low level of crimes that are currently occurring in the Thames Valley.

“Unless people have a specific burning issue in their area there is little incentive for them to attend.

“Those who have a particular issue usually approach my office direct, and we deal individually with them. With domestic burglary at a 40-year low and overall crime, less fraud, at its lowest for 25 years in Thames Valley, few people come forward to public meetings.

“There are areas, especially with crimes of a general nature, that individuals would prefer to deal direct with me, rather that attend public meetings.

“I will continue to hold public meetings in the future and I encourage people to attend, but I can understand that these meetings will not attract large audiences.”